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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698538">Photographic Memories</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurokosou/pseuds/Kurokosou'>Kurokosou</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Family Feels, Gen, Lance has a small crush on Shiro, Lance taking photos of everyone, Photographs, Sleepy Cuddles, Temporary Amnesia, idk what else to tag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:07:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,366</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurokosou/pseuds/Kurokosou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A simple re-supply mission gone wrong leads to Shiro losing most of his memories, with no quantifiable time when they will return. Lance decides on a last-ditch effort to recover Shiro's memories through a series of candid photos he may have been taking of the team in hopes of restoring their Black Paladin's precious memories...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lance &amp; Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Photographic Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Something I wrote a while ago and it's just been sitting on my computer since then...the ending kinda sucks, but I ran out of steam \o/</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He wasn’t exactly sure when he started doing it, but he knew he had been doing it for a while now, considering the generous size of his – “collection”. It had simply started out as a spur of the moment thing, an image he just had to capture because, at the time, he thought it was a rare occurrence. Now after observing and capturing so many of these moments, he came to realise he just hadn’t been looking hard enough.</p>
<p>Lance swallowed a hard breath, staring at the closed door with nervous eyes, fingers gripped so tight around the tablet in his hands they were starting to turn white. This was probably a bad idea – he <em>knew</em> it was a bad idea, since he had been taking these photos without explicit permission or prior knowledge from the main subject of said photos. Lance shook his head, straightening up his spine.</p>
<p><em>It’s for a good cause!</em> He tried to pep-talk himself, slowly and hesitantly reaching a hand to knock softly at the door. He jumped back as the door swooshed open, quickly forcing on a friendly smile to hide his nerves as the person inside the room greeted him.</p>
<p>“Oh, hey! Um – Lance, right?”</p>
<p>“Yup! That’s me, Lance, good ol’ Lancey-Lance! I – uh, how-how are you doing, Shiro?” Lance blurted out, a strained laugh rising from the back of his throat. Shiro raised a curious brow at him before giving him a thoughtful look.</p>
<p>“I’m doing alright, I guess…still trying to process the fact that I’m in space and that I’m the – what did you guys call me again – black paladin?” he answered.</p>
<p>“Sooo I guess your memories haven’t really come back yet?” Lance asked, mentally kicking himself two seconds later for stating the obvious.</p>
<p>“Yeah, sorry – still kind of fuzzy on everything,” Shiro nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he gave Lance a small shrug. Lance only hummed, eyes quickly darting to the floor as he thought back on the last few days. They had made a general pit-stop on a planet to pick up supplies and replenish the Castle’s inventory. It was supposed to be a simple mission, but of course as their luck would have it, they just had to stumble across the nesting grounds of the planet’s most temperamental and hostile creature. No one could really pronounce its name, so they just collectively agreed with Hunk’s moniker, “boar-bird” since it had a similar physical frame to a boar, but had large feathery wings and talons for its hind legs.</p>
<p>None of their Bayards were effective against its thick hide, nor were they fast enough to outrun it or ditch the creature in the planet’s dense forest. Shiro had opted to try and distract the boar-bird, to give the others a chance to get to their lions, managing to jump on the feathered back. The boar-bird had definitely not been happy with someone on its back and began wildly trying to buck Shiro off, the black paladin clinging tight to its feathers. He hadn’t expected the creature to suddenly take to the air, performing a harsh spin as it managed to knock Shiro off its back before using a wing to smack him hard back to the ground. Shiro barely had a chance to recover or even stumble back to his feet before the boar-bird landed in front of him, using its wing to knock him back again. The force from the attack had sent him crashing into a boulder, the impact hard enough to crack the back of his helmet.</p>
<p>Fortunately Shiro’s little diversion had allowed the others to get back to their lions, the team immediately swooping in to chase off the boar-bird. Once they were sure they had chased off the creature for good, they had rushed the unconscious black paladin back to the castle and into the healing pod, hoping for the best. After two full days, Shiro was finally released from the pod, Coran doing a thorough check-up to make sure he hadn’t suffered any serious damage from the major concussion. Everything had seemed all well and good, although Shiro did look a bit confused and disoriented, but they had figured it was just the normal after-effects from the healing pods; then Shiro started asking where he was and who they were. After some quick questions, they discovered that the blow to his head had caused him to lose most of his memories; he didn’t even recognise Keith.</p>
<p>“So, uh, did you need something?” Shiro asked, the question bringing Lance back to reality. He quickly shook off his nerves, taking in a deep breath as he turned his gaze back to Shiro.</p>
<p>“I, well, I – I have something to show you…um, ca-can I come in?” Lance muttered, making a vague gesture to the room. Shiro cocked his head to the side curiously, but nodded and stepped aside so Lance could enter his room. Lance said a small thanks, trying not to trip over his own feet as he rushed inside, stopping in the center. The door slid closed with a loud hiss, cutting off the bright light from the hallway, leaving the two of them in the soft blue glows from the castle’s “night” lights. Lance flinched, wondering if he had disturbed Shiro from a pending nap or something.</p>
<p>“I-I’m sorry, was I – interrupting something?” He asked timidly, eyes briefly darting to Shiro in time to catch the puzzled look on his face.</p>
<p>“No? Why do you ask?”</p>
<p>“Well, it’s – you have your lights dimmed and well, I just thought, maybe you were taking a nap or resting and – oh man! I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to bother you, I just – I’ll just be going –!” Lance babbled, sharply turning on his heels and started making his way to the door. He jumped a little at the hands firmly resting on his shoulders, just barely stopping the squeak noise in his throat.</p>
<p>“Hey, woah, woah – calm down, Lance! You weren’t interrupting anything,” Shiro assured, trying not to laugh as he smiled. Lance gripped the tablet in his hands tighter, praying to any God above that he wasn’t blushing. He wouldn’t say it was – unusual to see Shiro look so relaxed and carefree; free from the trauma the Galra had inflicted on him, free from the burden of being a leader – it was just rarer. He could smile, but they could the see the tiredness in his eyes; he could be calm, composed, but they could see the tension coiled in his shoulders.</p>
<p>“A-are you sure? Cuz the lights are all dimmed down and usually that’s when people are trying to sleep or meditate or –”</p>
<p>“Oh the lights – they were just a bit too bright for me, so I asked, uh – what’s his name again? Corvin?”</p>
<p>“Coran,” Lance corrected.</p>
<p>“Right, Coran – to show me how to dim them; it was starting to strain my eyes,” Shiro explained. Lance tilted his head to the side in thought, making a curious noise as he pondered this new fact.</p>
<p>“Huh, I didn’t think you were sensitive to light.”</p>
<p>“I’m not – or well, at least I don’t think I am? I’m – not really sure, honestly,” Shiro shrugged, giving Lance a sheepish smile. Lance only hummed, eyes still focused on their feet as the two stood in silence; after a minute or two Shiro cleared his throat, tearing Lance’s attention from the floor to his face.</p>
<p>“So, uh, you said you wanted to show me something?” Shiro inquired, brow raised in curiosity. Lance nearly dropped the tablet as he fumbled with the device, shoving it a bit too hard against Shiro’s chest, muttering a small apology along with it.</p>
<p>“I – I have some…pho-photos I – I want you to-to see,” he stuttered.</p>
<p>“But, you and the others already showed me a bunch of photos and nothing was familiar,” Shiro blinked, eyes glancing between the tablet and the teen standing in front of him.</p>
<p>“I know, I know, but these are…personal…” Lance near-whispered that last word. “It’s nothing bad! I promise!” he quickly added, seeing the odd look Shiro was giving. Shiro’s gazed lingered on Lance for a second more before shrugging his shoulders, moving to sit down on the edge of his bed. He stared at the tablet for a moment before slowly tilting it this way and that, eyebrows pinching together in confusion.</p>
<p>“Uh, sorry, but how do you…” he asked, turning to Lance as he held up the tablet to him. Lance tried not to physically smack his own forehead; of course Shiro doesn’t remember how to work the tablets Coran gave them all.</p>
<p>“Right, right, sorry – I’ll just…” Lance took a hesitant seat next to Shiro on the bed, ignoring the way their shoulders bumped as he showed the elder how to turn on the device. His fingers easily swept over the smooth surface till he found the folder he was looking for. Once he had the first photo up and loaded, he leaned away from Shiro’s shoulder, pushing down the longing feeling in his stomach at the loss of warmth. Shiro thanked him for the help before turning his eyes to the photo, staring at it for a couple minutes before swiping over to the next one.</p>
<p>“Wow, I look really serious in this one,” he commented. Lance perked up, leaning over – while trying hard <em>not</em> to press their shoulders together – to see which photo it was. He had to chuckle a little, earning him a puzzled look from Shiro. It was a photo taken in their early days, when they were just starting to find a good rhythm with each other; Shiro was standing straight, a hand over his mouth hiding the deep, thoughtful frown on his face and his eyebrows pinched in concentration.</p>
<p>“Oh, you may look serious, but the thing you’re thinking about definitely wasn’t,” he chuckled again. “This is when Hunk and Pidge were arguing whether a hot dog should be considered a sandwich or not. You were so stumped by it that you stood there for ten minutes thinking about it!”</p>
<p>“Wait, seriously?” Shiro snorted, giving Lance an incredulous smile.</p>
<p>“Seriously! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so serious about something in my life!” Lance teased, gently nudging Shiro with his elbow. Shiro laughed, nudging him back before going back to the picture, staring at it with a strange fondness. He swiped to the next photo, staring at it for a moment or two before asking for the story behind it; Lance was more than happy to retell the events leading up to it and the other photos that followed. Several photos in, Shiro lingered on one particular picture, hesitant fingers carefully tracing the stilled image of his profile. Lance smiled tenderly as he observed Shiro’s face, glancing down at the photo he had stopped on; he had taken it after they had liberated another planet from the Galra’s clutches.</p>
<p>As per usual following Voltron’s victory, they had been mingling with the locals, Allura and Shiro talking to the “heads of state” so to speak, negotiating alliances and all that fun political stuff. Lance had noticed Shiro break off from the conversations at some point; curious, he followed Shiro as he weaved through the crowds, occasionally stopping to chat with the locals before approaching a mother and her young child. Lance had to resist the urge to coo when Shiro took off his helmet, tucking it under his arm as he knelt down to the child’s height to talk to her. The smile he saw that day was the gentlest, most heart-warming smile he had ever seen on Shiro’s face since – well, he’s never actually <em>seen</em> Shiro smile like that before, so Lance had fumbled like a mad-man to get his phone out and snap the picture before the moment passed.</p>
<p>“…What’cha thinking big guy?” Lance asked. Shiro had been quiet for a few seconds too long, still staring at the image of him with the alien child, thick brows pinched in concentration.</p>
<p>“I – I look so happy; I wish I could remember what’s happening here…” Shiro sighed, the corners of his mouth turning down in a deep frown. Lance felt a pang in his chest at the hints of regret in Shiro’s tone, hesitating a moment before he shifted a little closer to Shiro, lightly bumping their shoulders together.</p>
<p>“I’m sure it’ll come back to you…” Lance assured. “This was after we had freed the Veni from the Galra; man, that was a tough fight! Had a few close calls, but we managed it! You see –”</p>
<p>Lance’s words started to fade into the background, becoming white noise to Shiro’s ears as he kept staring at the photo. He knew he should be listening, and some distance thought felt bad for ignoring Lance while he was trying to help, but there was something else – something more pressing trying to push its way to the front of his mind. Shiro let out a silent gasp, eyes going wide as the colours seemed to jump out of the tablet at him, the scenery flashing through his mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>When it became obvious he was no longer needed, Shiro decided to slip away from all the diplomatic talks, leaving Allura to settle the “hard” stuff. No one noticed him slinking away from the conversations, so he took the opportunity to fulfill his – other mission. Shiro scanned the crowds of the Veni around them, carefully making his way through and occasionally stopping to greet or humor any of the Veni who approached him. He eventually found who he was looking for, quietly excusing himself from a rather enthusiastic Veni, slowly approaching the mother and her child. He moved to take his helmet off, briefly combing his fingers through his white fringe before greeting the pair with a smile. The young Veni girl stared up at him with her big, glossy eyes, still hiding behind her mother’s tunic as he slowly knelt down to match the girl’s height.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey there – Molgre, right?” he inquired, feeling his smile widen at the girl’s surprise.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You remember my name!” she squealed and Shiro had to chuckle.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Of course – you gave me a very special mission, remember?” he reminded. Keith had groaned and griped at him for over ten minutes about it, but Shiro didn’t care; the little excited gasp that escaped Molgre was more than worth it. She was bouncing on the spot as he reached for one of the hidden compartments in his armor – man, he really loved these things – materializing a small, worn-out rag doll, holding it out to Molgre.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Cheildots!” she squeaked, snatching the doll from Shiro and hugged it tight to her chest. Shiro smiled fondly, moving to stand back up after Molgre had thanked him, dusting off the dirt from his knees.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Thank you so much, Black Paladin. I know it is – silly for us to make such a request; especially when defeating the Galra is much more important than a doll,” Molgre’s mother exclaimed, hands folded together in worry. Shiro simply shook his head, holding his hand out to her.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It’s not silly at all – that doll is important to both of you, and I was more than happy to return it to you,” Shiro assured. Maybe it was silly and seemed like a waste of time, but he just couldn’t turn the little girl away – not after she had explained that the doll was the only thing she had left of her father, who had been killed by the Galra during their first invasion. Seeing the adoring smile, the way Molgre’s marble eyes glistened with happiness as she hugged the doll tight – yeah, Shiro had no regrets taking that extra five minutes to track the jerk of a Galra solider who stole her doll for kicks.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Besides – as a Paladin of Voltron it is my duty to help those in need,” Shiro smiled down at Molgre, reaching a gentle hand to pat her on the head. “No matter how big or small that need is.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Molgre and her mother thanked him again before moving along their way, Shiro seeing them off with a wave; he couldn’t help but smile at the little skip in Molgre’s step, letting out a content sigh. He watched them until they had mixed in with the rest of the Veni, taking a minute to commit this moment to memory before he moved to put his helmet back on. He closed eyes and took in deep breathes, knowing that once he opened them again, he’d have to go back to being the serious leader. Once he was back in the right mindset, he opened his eyes, noticing that the crowds of the Veni were starting to disperse, meaning that Allura was probably close to wrapping up their businesses. He let out another sigh, knowing that they’d have to take off soon and continue their fight against the Galra across the universe. He let the warmth linger a moment longer before pushing it back down, along with the darker thoughts telling him he didn’t deserve it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A familiar shade of blue and white caught his eye, dark grey eyes darting to find Lance leaning against the side of a building. Shiro couldn’t help but roll his eyes, wondering what Lance was loitering around for this time; he turned and began to march over to the blue paladin but halted in his tracks, taking a closer look at the teen’s face. A gentle, almost fond, smile was spread across Lance’s face, glancing down at the handheld device in his hands; it – was surprising. Shiro blinked. He’s never seen Lance smile like that before and they’ve been in space together for quite some time now. It was different from his usual cocky smirks and flirty grins, different from the overdone bravado Lance liked to put on; he seemed almost – soft, vulnerable even.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Curious, Shiro quietly approached Lance, the blue paladin barely noticing his presence as he kept staring down at his phone. Now Shiro was really curious, wondering what it was on the phone that was occupying Lance’s attention so raptly. He had a few theories, figuring it was probably some family photos, or maybe the so-called “glory” days from the Garrison as Lance liked to call it. No, that didn’t make sense; Shiro was aware that Lance was a little homesick, so if he was really looking at family photos, Shiro would figure his smile would be sadder than – whatever this smile was. Shiro cleared his throat to get the teen’s attention, definitely not expecting the teen to full on freak out seeing him. It was almost comical, really, watching Lance juggle his phone with clumsy hands before he managed to catch it, quickly hiding it behind his back.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Shiro! Wh – hey! Hi, ho, uh…hi…?” Lance stammered, flashing him the biggest nervous grin Shiro had ever seen. Shiro had to purse his lips to keep a straight face, trying not to laugh as he cleared his throat, giving Lance his best serious face he could muster.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, uh – I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he questioned, trying to keep an even tone, but he couldn’t stop the little teasing lilt that got in there. Lance gave him a nervous laugh, waving a hand frantically in the air.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Who? What? Me? Phssst – noooo! No, nope – nothing going on here!” Lance rambled, trying to act causally and failing fantastically. Shiro couldn’t help but snort, quickly hiding it with a cough, putting a hand to his hip as he cocked his hip out.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Really? So then I guess you won’t mind showing me what you were looking at just now?” he goaded. He didn’t miss the way Lance went stiff, the blue paladin’s face locking up with nervousness; he could practically see the sweat drops dripping down the teen’s forehead and it was taking all his willpower not to keel over and laugh. Lance opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish before pointing out to behind them, quickly slipping past Shiro.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh! Would you – hey, look at that! The others are leaving so we should skedaddle! SeeyouonbroadShirokaybye!” Lance spoke just as fast as he ran, already half way to the group before Shiro could even open his mouth. He shook his head, raising a curious brow as he watched the blue paladin run away from him. He’d have to grill Lance about this later, but for now – he had to turn his focus back to the matters on hand.</em>
</p>
<p>“Shiro? Shiro – are you okay?” Lance’s voice snapped him out of the daze, blinking a few times before he turned to face worried blue eyes. The words were trapped in his throat for a moment, still trying to get his head straight, glancing back down at the picture.</p>
<p>“You…it was you! I – I remember this. You took this picture!” Shiro claimed, holding the tablet up. Lance’s eyebrows shot up his forehead, jaw dropping open wide as he nearly jumped up from the bed.</p>
<p>“I, wha, you…wait – you remember?!” Lance gapped, both terrified and hopeful. Shiro nodded his head, lightly touching his fingers to the image, feeling the corners of his mouth tug upwards in a small smile. A beat of silence passed between, the castle’s mechanisms humming in the background. Shiro turned to thank Lance, but the words never left his throat, noticing how the colour had drained from the teen’s face, a fearful look in his eyes.</p>
<p>“Lance? Are you –?” he began, only to be cut off when Lance let out a strangled noise, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head.</p>
<p>“I’m so, so sorry Shiro! I didn’t mean to take that picture! Well I mean I did, but I didn’t mean, I just, I was – argh!” Lance threw his arms over his head, attempting to curl up in a ball on the bed.</p>
<p>“Uh…Lance?”</p>
<p>“I know I have a lot of photos of you…photos that I took without you knowing or telling you…oh god, I sound like a creep!”</p>
<p>“…Lance…”</p>
<p>“I mean, I wanted to tell you, but when it first happened we didn’t really know each other, and we barely even had any <em>time</em> because of Voltron and Galra things –!”</p>
<p>“Lance!”</p>
<p>“And I just never had the right time to tell you! And oh god, I really wanted to tell you, but I was scared that it would come off as creepy and stalker-ish and I just –!!” Lance startled at the hand covering over his mouth, the rest of his words getting mumbled against the warm flesh. Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose, huffing out a sigh, waiting for Lance to calm down so he could get a word or five in. Once he was sure Lance was ready to listen to him, he pulled his hand back, letting out another sigh at the trepidation painted across the teen’s face.</p>
<p>“Okay, firstly – <em>that</em> – was definitely familiar,” Shiro joked, hoping to ease Lance’s nerves. It didn’t really work, watching the teen deflate as Shiro cleared his throat, quickly moving on. “Secondly – I’m not mad that you took this photo, Lance.”</p>
<p>“You’re – not? Really?” Lance inquired.</p>
<p>“Really – if anything, I’m glad you took this photo. I thought I would only just have my own memories, but it’s – nice, to have something physical to remind me what I did for Molgre,” Shiro assured fondly.</p>
<p>“Molgre?”</p>
<p>“That’s the girl’s name,” Shiro answered, turning back to the photo. He felt the familiar warmth from that day fill his chest, proud of that beaming smile he had put on the girl’s face after returning her precious doll to her. Lance pulled his hood back, cautiously scooting closer to Shiro, leaning up against his side as he took in the photo of his leader and the alien child together.</p>
<p>“Can – can you tell me the story behind this? I didn’t really catch the whole exchange between you and Molgre? I-I’d like to know what you did that made you smile like that,” Lance requested. Shiro nodded, holding the tablet up so Lance could see the photo as he began to retell what he remembered that day. Lance was in near-tears by the end of it, Shiro unable to stop himself from teasing the other.</p>
<p>They continued on to the next set of photos, Shiro prompting Lance for the story behind each one and filling in any gaps whenever he remembered something. Lance would apologise each time Shiro remembered something before Shiro assured him that he was fine with the candid photos. He reasoned that if Lance hadn’t taken these photos, they wouldn’t be sitting here right now and Shiro wouldn’t be getting his memories back. Lance finally stopped apologising so much after that, slowly relaxing against Shiro’s side as they kept going through the rest of the photos well into the castle’s night cycle.</p>
<p>-8-</p>
<p>He let out a soft groan, refusing to open his eyes as his mind roused to a groggy, semi-conscious state. He didn’t want to wake up yet, but his thoughts were slowly gaining coherency, followed by an all too familiar nagging telling him to get up. Shiro groaned again, dark lashes fluttering open as he gave up on sleep; he kind of wished he had forgotten this habit along with his memories. He blinked once and then twice, barely registering the unfamiliar weight and warmth in his arms. He blinked again to clear his vision, thick brows pinching together in concentration as he waited for his brain to catch up with his eyes. It finally dawned on him that the mop of dark brown hair obscuring his view belonged to Lance and that he was currently curled up in Shiro’s arms still dead to the world.</p>
<p>Shiro stared blankly at the back of Lance’s head, unsure of how they ended up in this position before it came flooding back to him. Lance knocking at his door, the collection of photos he had shown him, how at some point in the night they had moved to lie back to be more comfortable; that’s probably when they dozed off and ended up like this. Shiro could feel the tug of a smile on his lips, letting out a content sigh as he moved to sit up; he paused when he realised his right arm was still trapped under Lance’s head. For once he was glad for the metal prosthetic – he didn’t have to worry about waking up to a numb arm. He attempted to ease his arm out from Lance’s head, freezing a couple times at every little noise Lance made, but otherwise remained asleep. Shiro let out a breath of relief once his arm was freed and Lance stayed blissfully unaware; he gazed at Lance for a moment, a small smile coming to his face.</p>
<p>Shiro shifted his position, flinching at the hard edge poking into his hip; he felt around till his fingers came across the tablet, pulling it out from under him. It kind of impressed him that he had managed to even sleep with this thing poking him all night. He felt his smile widen, recalling the memories he regained from last night; there were still quite a few chunks missing, but he remembered enough of the important ones to get the gist of things. A low rumble vibrated in his mind, letting out a silent chuckle at the familiar presence – the black lion. He could feel the faint joy from black, the mechanical lion glad that her paladin finally remembered her again, even if only a little bit.</p>
<p>A small groan drew Shiro’s attention to the still sleeping body next to him, watching as Lance did this teeny, tiny little stretch before settling back into the covers, nuzzling his face deeper in the pillow. Shiro bit back the laughter threatening to bubble out of his throat, a fleeting thought popping into his head at how cute that action looked. He dismissed that thought in a hot second, turning back to the tablet to turn it back on, grinning at the photo still open from last night. He vaguely remembered this day – it was during one of their many training sessions with him holding Keith in a headlock; Shiro had decided to be a little devious and started to muss up Keith’s hair like he was a little kid. Keith had not been happy with him and may have thrown off the serious mood a little, but it was worth seeing Keith all flustered.</p>
<p>Shiro smiled fondly at the picture, sneaking a quick peek at Lance before swiping to the next photo. There were plenty of photos of the others, including the Alteans and the space mice; some were intentional, but most of the shots were candid, which honestly, Shiro felt were the best ones. He could see the feelings of each and every moment Lance had captured, immortalizing the very essences of their teammates – their friends. He frowned as he continued browsing through the photos, coming to a sudden realisation he hadn’t noticed before. With Lance taking the photos, of course logically he wouldn’t be in any of them, but the more photos Shiro went through, the more he realised just how – lacking Lance’s presence was. There was no stray finger, no added hand gestures – there weren’t even any selfies or masterful shots angling to include a glimpse of him along with the others.</p>
<p>Dark grey eyes shifted to the still slumbering being lying next to him, curious and maybe a little disheartened over why Lance would purposefully remove himself from these photos, from their friends. Lance had told him last night the reasons <em>why</em> he began taking these photos in the first place; he wanted them to feel normal. They were far away from home, dragged into a ten thousand year old war with little choice in the matter, and had their lives under constant threat from a tyrant bent on ruling the entire universe. In all honesty, it could get a bit tiring trying to survive and live just to see the next battle. These photos Lance was taking, these “silly” moments – they weren’t Paladins of Voltron, defenders of the universe – they were just normal people. They were physical reminders that underneath the serious and resolved soldiers they’ve had to become – they were still regular, everyday people.</p>
<p>A heavy feeling settled in Shiro’s stomach, chewing down on his bottom lip as he thought longer on the absence of the blue paladin from his own photos. It just didn’t seem right, giving everyone else a sense of normalcy and yet not grant himself the right to have that feeling as well. An idea popped into Shiro’s head, eyes focusing on the tablet as he tapped his finger across the screen, pressing at the icons till he found what he wanted. Slowly and quietly, he twisted his torso, angling the tablet just above Lance’s sleeping form, waiting for the image to focus right; there was a soft <em>click</em> and the screen went blank before resuming its previous function. Lance made a small noise, Shiro jerking the tablet close to his chest as he held his breath; other than shifting a little, Lance remained asleep.</p>
<p>Shiro let out a quiet little cheer of triumphant, trying not to laugh out loud at his own silliness before turning back to the tablet. He swiped through the folders, easily finding the new picture he had just taken, thoroughly impressed at how clear the image was despite the low lighting. He slowly settled back against the wall, his features softening to a gentle smile as he gazed at the photo. He made a note to ask Coran later on how to transfer files to another device; he doubt Lance would be happy to see this once he woke up, but Shiro didn’t feel even a smidge of regret for taking it. His smile widened as he settled his new resolve to take his own set of candid photos of their blue paladin – after all, it was only fair to give Lance the same slice of normal life as he has given to everyone else.</p>
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